A Report On CIS CountriesBy

Gaurav Godbole - 17

Aditya Natarajan - 20

Rajesh Bhandari - 28

FREE TRADE Commerce between countries without

government interference and protective duties. An agreement between various countries to trade

goods and services without preferences, tariffs and quotas.

Benefits: Helps boost trade based on comparative

advantage. Capital can move freely across territorial borders. Free access to markets and market information. Greater opportunities of employment, with the

free movement of labor between countries.

THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES (CIS)

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is the official name which describes a loose confederation of twelve of the fifteen countries which formerly made up the Soviet Union.

Conceived as the successor to the USSR in its role of coordinating the foreign and economic policies of its member nations.

Established : Dec. 8, 1991

Headquarters : Minsk, Belarus

The three non-members : Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania(the Baltic Republics ).

CISFTA - COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES FTA

Kazakhstan

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

Russia

Kyrgyzstan

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Georgia

Moldova

Ukraine

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES

OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES Eliminating barriers to trade in, and facilitating the cross-border movement of goods ; Promoting conditions of fair competition in the free trade area, and ensuring

equitable benefits to all Contracting States, taking into account their respective levels and pattern of economic development;

Creating effective mechanism for the implementation and application of this Agreement, for its joint administration and for the resolution of

Establishing a framework for further regional cooperation to expand and

Enhance the mutual benefits of this Agreement.

Acceleration of economic growth,

Promotion of active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, and technical field.

Strengthening of cooperation among the Member States in international forum on matters of common interest

PURPOSE To promote what was called a "civilized divorce" among the

former Soviet states. 1. Many feared the breakup of the Soviet Union would lead to political

and economic chaos, if not outright conflict over borders.

To promote integration among the newly independent states. 1. CIS did not succeed.2. No consensus among them on what should replace the Soviet state.3. The need to develop national political and economic systems took

precedence in many states, dampening enthusiasm for any project of reintegration.

4. CIS members have also been free to sign or not sign agreements as they see fit, creating a hodgepodge of treaties and obligations among CIS states.

GOALS

1. Coordination of members2. Foreign and security policies, 3. Development of a common economic space, 4. Fostering human rights and inter-ethnic

concord,5. Maintenance of the military assets of the

former USSR, 6. Creation of shared transportation and

communications networks, 7. Environmental security, 8. regulation of migration policy, and 9. Efforts to combat organized crime.

INTEGRATION OF COUNTRIES IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE CIS EXECUTED THROUGH ITS COORDINATING INSTITUTIONS

Charter Bodies of the CIS: Council of the Heads of States Council of the Heads of Governments Council of Foreign Ministers Council of Defense Ministers Council of Commanders-in-Chief of Frontier Troops Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Economic Court

Executive Bodies of the CIS: Economic Council Executive Committee Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives of the

States-Participants of the Commonwealth under Charterand Other Bodies of the Commonwealth

INTEGRATION OF COUNTRIES IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE CIS EXECUTED THROUGH ITS COORDINATING INSTITUTIONS

Bodies Of Branch Cooperation of the CIS : 

1. Anti -Terrorist Center2. Interstate Bank3. Interstate Statistical Committee4. Interstate Council on Standardization Metrology and

Certification5. Interstate Council on Emergency Situation of Natural and

Anthropogenic Character6. Interstate Council on Antimonopoly Policy7. Coordinating council of the states-participants of the CIS on

Informatization under the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications

8. Electric Energy Council9. Interstate Council on Aviation and Air Space Use10. Council of the Heads of Statistical Services of the States-

Participants of the Commonwealth11. Council of the Heads of Customs Services of the States-

Participants of the Commonwealth

CIS FTA

Was signed in April 1994 and amended in 1999. Aim was to deepen provisions and to accelerate

formation of the FTA. Gradual removal of tariffs and export taxes,export

and import quotas,coordination of economic policy, especially in agriculture,transport,finance and development of fair competition and harmonization of legislation, such as technical requirements and customs procedures.

Disputes may also be settled through international arrangements.

PURCHASING POWER PARITY AND EXCHANGE RATES

Purchasing power parity (PPP) is a theory of long-term equilibrium exchange rates based on relative price levels of two countries.

The best-known and most-used purchasing power parity exchange rate is the Geary-Khamis dollar.

PPP exchange rate fluctuations are mostly due to different rates of inflation between the two economies.

In short, PPP takes into account as if there was a standard international Currency used by all countries and determining the cost for that measure.

ECONOMIC DATA (GDP POWER PARITY BASIS)

Armen

ia

Azerb

aija

n

Belar

us

Georg

ia

Kazak

hsta

n

Kyrgy

zsta

n

Moldo

va

Russia

Tajik

istan

Turk

men

istan

Ukrai

ne

Uzbek

istan

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Power parity analysis

GDP (purchasing power parity)(2008 est.) GDP (official exchange rate)(2008 est.)

ECONOMIC DATA (GDP GROWTH)

Total0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

0.12

0.14

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Georgia

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Moldova

Russia

Tajikistan

Turk-menistan

Ukraine

Uzbekistan

SOME NOTABLE COLLABORATIONS EurAsian Economic Community (EAEC): Collaboration of Russian federation and Belarus in 1995. Rest

countries joined later on. It aims to create common external policies, tariffs, customs, prices, and other components of a customs union and common market, such as a single currency, harmonization of national legislation, uniform foreign investment regimes, and joint transport and power markets.

Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO): Kyrgyz Republic signed a treaty with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

in April 1994. Russia entered in 2005. To create a single economic space, the Central Asia Economic Community.

Contd…

SOME NOTABLE COLLABORATIONS

ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA): Was signed by Afghanistan,Iran,Pakistan,Tajikistan

and Turkey in July 2003. Progressive elimination of Non Tariff Barriers and tariff rationalization. Aimed at raising intra-regional trade from 6% to 20% till 2015.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Signed in June 2001 between the Kyrgyz Republic

and China, the Russian Federation,Kazakhstan,Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

COMMON ECONOMIC SPACE

Involves a supranational commission on trade and tariffs that would be based in Kiev, initially be headed by a representative of Kazakhstan, and would not be subordinate to the governments of the four nations.

The ultimate goal would be a regional organization that would be open for other countries to join as well, and could eventually lead even to a single currency.

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (EXPORTS)

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

Sum of CIS coun-tries

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (IMPORTS)

Armen

ia

Azerb

aija

n

Belar

us

Georg

ia

Kazak

hsta

n

Kyrgy

zsta

n

Moldo

va

Russia

Tajik

istan

Ukrai

ne0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

Sum of Cis countriesSum of Non Cis coun-tries

FAILURES / DRAWBACKS The CIS lost most of its momentum and was victimized by

internal rifts, becoming, according to some observers, largely irrelevant and powerless.

By 1993, the ruble zone collapsed, with each state issuing its own currency.

In 1993 and 1994, eleven CIS states ratified a Treaty on an Economic Union (Ukraine joined as an associate member).

A free-trade zone was proposed in 1994, but by 2002 it still had not yet been fully established.

In 1996 four states (Russia, Belarus, Krygyzstan, Kazakhstan) created a Customs Union, but others refused to join.

All these efforts were designed to increase trade, but, due to a number of factors, trade among CIS countries has lagged behind targeted figures. More broadly speaking, economic cooperation has suffered because states had adopted economic reforms and programs with little regard for the CIS and have put more emphasis on redirecting their trade to neighboring European or Asian states.

RECENT NEWS

Russia to draft free trade area agreement within CIS(to the nations that form part of the Customs Union, that is Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan)

The creation of a common economic space for Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus may be launched on 1 January 2010.

Following the withdrawal of Georgia, the presidents of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan skipped the Oct 2009 meeting of the CIS.

THANK YOU!!